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Author Archives: Joel D. Hirst
Eiffel Tower and the Seine, Paris
Paris does abide. The last time I was in France was for my sister in law’s wedding, in Grenoble in 2019 I think. Before then, it was for a few days with my wife and my other sister in law, … Continue reading
9/11 @ 25
For about ten years I fought in the “War on Terror”. My work was in three theaters, all in Africa (Uganda, Mali, Nigeria) against ISIS, Al Shabbab, Al Qaida and Boko Haram. I mapped jihadi movements throughout the Lake Chad … Continue reading
Posted in Liberty, Painting
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Colorful Castle
I did a second one of these, more colorful. Which do you prefer? https://www.artpal.com/joeldhirst?i=319328-51
A Novel on Aristotelian Islam
During the early days of the Islamic caliphate, around the 8th and 9th centuries, the Arab Muslim world was at the peak of civilization. These are the days when Europe was still in its dark ages, brought about by the … Continue reading
Posted in Book Review
Tagged history, india, islam, Islamic State, Mali, mu'tazila, quran, religion, Timbuktu
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Fantasy Castle
This one is entirely from my imagination. I’ve been fascinated with castles for my lifetime. I would own one, and become lost there in its legends and histories, if I could. https://www.artpal.com/joeldhirst?i=319328-50
A Novel from the African Camps
Africa captivates and captures you, but not in the way you would think. Not glistening Zanzibar beaches, storied safaris or British lodges — those exist, for sure, the same way Vale and Aspen also exist. Places people only know of … Continue reading
Girl Reading Book in a Field of Sunflowers
I think she is probably happy, content and at peace with herself. What do you think? https://www.artpal.com/joeldhirst/?i=319328-49
A Simple Tale of Soviet Armenia
I think this my favorite of my novels. It is not the most elaborate, that would go to “The Unraveling.” Nor is it the best researched, that would go to “Lords of Misrule.” But my novel about Armenia, called “An … Continue reading
Posted in Book Review, Liberty, Literature
Tagged Armenia, europe, politics, Travel, yerevan
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Joel D. Hirst: Select Poems and Short Stories
Back before the prose boom started, maybe with Dickens or Hugo, and which came of age perhaps during the Lost Generation, most famous writers were poets. Poe, Byron, Dickenson. Poetry is interesting. It can be grand, like Dante, in which … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
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Don Quixote
In Yerevan, Armenia, in an antique shop full of musty tomes and dusty artifacts I found an old Soviet Don Quixote iron statuette. The Soviets loved Quixote. His fight against the oligarchs; his utopian sense of the possible; his tireless … Continue reading
